The NGA has responded to an August 14 article in the Washington Post that was chock-full of misinformation, courtesy of Grey2K. Here’s the full text of the NGA letter to the Post, which was submitted over the signature of NGA Executive Director Jim Gartland.

DEAR EDITOR:

The August 14 article about the proposed Constitutional amendment to ban greyhound racing in Florida contained some serious factual errors, many of which can be traced back to the radical animal rights groups behind this initiative.

For example, it is untrue that greyhound racing has been “banned” in 40 states. In the vast majority of states, greyhound racing never existed in the first place because these states never authorized pari-mutuel wagering on dogs. Only one state has ever passed a statewide voter referendum to ban greyhound racing.

Contrary to Grey2K claims, greyhounds are not given performance-enhancing drugs. Drug testing by Florida officials over the past 10 years found only 71 out of 440,586 urine samples where miniscule traces of drugs were present, likely due to environmental contamination.

Animal rights claims about greyhound injuries also are groundless. Qualified veterinary research has found that the injury rate in greyhound racing is less than two-tenths of one percent. Most greyhound injuries are minor, allowing the greyhound to resume racing after a few weeks or retire into a loving home.

These misrepresentations are nothing new, but they could do serious harm in Florida. Nearly 13,000 workers are employed, directly and indirectly, in greyhound racing in that state. Track employees, kennel workers, and workers in the small businesses who supply goods and services to greyhound racing will lose their jobs if the greyhound ban passes.

We can only hope that Florida voters base their votes on common sense and not on false animal rights claims.